Has Kate Middleton Chosen Her Royal Wedding Dress Designer?

NewsFeed might be ever-so-slightly flippant with some aspects of the upcoming royal wedding. But when it comes to the dress, we’re nothing but serious.

One of Britain’s most respected newspapers, the Sunday Times, has caused a stir by suggesting that Sarah Burton, the creative director of the Alexander McQueen fashion house, will design Kate Middleton’s wedding dress. Naturally, everyone involved immediately issued denials, from the Palace to Burton herself and the company’s chief executive, Jonathan Akeroyd.

A Paris-based publicist for the McQueen house emailed the Associated Press, saying “We can confirm this story is untrue.” But if it somehow turns out that Burton does get the gig, she has heavyweight backing in the form of Vogue‘s editor, Anna Wintour, who recently said Burton would be “a brilliant choice.” What’s more, Burton is British, which many in the public favor.

The likes of Bruce Oldfield, Philippa Lepley and Daniela Issa Helayel remain in the frame though Issa’s Brazilian background may rule her out, despite Middleton wearing her in the past.

There’s also a curious Catch-22 scenario playing out. It’s almost certain that the lucky designer is being bound by a confidentiality agreement, which means that if word does leak out, said designer would either have to break the terms of his or her contract or mislead the media and keep those denials coming. This is all an elaborate way of saying that if Burton continues to dismiss the reports, one may end up concluding that the lady doth protest too much.